Tag: hotels

Our recent trip to Marmaris in Turkey was literally a tale of two parts. The good however significantly outweighed the bad.

Although I love the idea of travelling the actual travel day is incredibly hard, especially if you are struggling with mobility. As mentioned in a previous post, this trip started on the right note with a wonderful night at the Carlton Hotel in Blanchardstown. At 4 am all excited we set off on our new adventure to a place that we had never visited before. (read about our wonderful night here)

Arriving in the friendliest place

Almost 5 hours on a budget airline is tiring. It was wonderful to land at the brand-new airport at Dalaman and to feel the sun on our shoulders. The transfer system here is very slick, and we were soon installed into a smart little mini bus, complete with a cooler of drinks. All the transfer buses stop off half way, and I was delighted to stretch my legs and treat myself to my first Turkish ice cream – it was called blue sky – and looked exactly like the sky above us. I was curious to try it and wondered what it would taste like – hard to describe but the closest I could get was caramel delicious.

A word of warning

Before we arrived at our hotel we knew it wouldn’t be great. We had been doing some research on Trip Advisor and were a little worried to be honest. The reviews were shocking. We already knew that it was a five-story hotel that had no lift. When I found this out I called ahead and explained my mobility issues and thankfully we were in a room on the first floor. The hotel was very run down, but thankfully clean (this is important to me). We had also booked full board – and one look at the dining room, the food that looked like it was recycled for each meal, and the kitchen led us to a quick decision that we wouldn’t be eating in.

On the plus side the location of the hotel was perfect, only 5 minutes from the beach, with easy access to the town and lovely eateries. It also had a great rooftop pool, that had me taking a daily dip!

It is important to check things out. We do travel on a budget, so were not expecting 5 stars.

The most delicious food always served with a smile

The food in Marmaris is amazing. Let me just say that. From a gorgeous Cappuccino to a full mixed grill, everything was fresh and delicious. It was also extremely affordable, and served with a smile.

The first morning we went for a walk along the seafront. After a while I was hot and tired, so we chose a restaurant for a refreshing drink. Vamos appealed to me from the sidewalk, and it was a good choice. Although we were only having a drink, I read the menu (I always do this – its ok to dream). I noticed a starter of watermelon and feta and never mind that it was 11am I ordered it. The portion that arrived was enough for three! They quickly brought extra utensils and told me that this was not the normal portion size but that they decided to treat me. It was fresh, juicy and so delicious. And, it set the tone for a foodie holiday.

A firm favourite on the Turkish menu was lava bread. This is literally a balloon of bread – crispy and light served with salsa, garlic yogurt and garlic butter. I think we shared one every day, and I am missing them already.

Food was so affordable and the quality was outstanding. We indulged in gorgeous kebab skewers, the most delicious pizza, and tasty gorgeous Turkish breakfasts. If you fancy, there is always a great English breakfast – available in most restaurants.

Great value for money

I had underestimated how much spending money we needed – primarily because we ate out all the time. After one attempt at drawing cash from a Turkish language ATM which was stressful, we realised that it was easy enough to choose a multiple language version. By this stage I thought I was accustomed to the Turkish Lire. I had bought three pairs of Birkenstocks, and we had tried out all sorts of treats from the supermarket. I drew a couple of hundred lire, and then realised that it was barely 30 Euro. Your money goes a long way in Turkey.

A long walk to Icmeler

We love to walk. Even though I walk slowly and with my trusty stick Stan, I am game to see how far I can go before I need a rest. One day we decided to visit the next village – Icmeler. I am not sure why we thought we could walk there, but we did. We walked and walked. I got hotter and more tired, and started complaining. Himself kept on saying, it’ll be around the next corner. After about six or seven corners I called time and we popped into a café with a Wi-Fi sign for a cold drink. I checked google maps – it was 8km further!!! Suffice to say we went back to the hotel for a swim and took a taxi the next day. I fell in love with Icmeler, bought the most delicious Turkish delight and indulged in yet another Lava bread.

Be prepared to lose your inhibitions

I had heard about a Hamman – a Turkish bath. Feeling brave I booked in and descended the stairs to the Hamman spa. Now, please remember that I am fabulous plus sized lady. I was shown the changing room and offered a Turkish towel which is probably slightly bigger than a large dish towel. I blanched! A young lady came to assist and managed to truss me up in two towels – I had elected to keep my underwear on (for now). After a sauna, I was shown into the Hamman room and invited to lay down on this large marble slab. There was then a confusion of communication and eventually and English speaker came to clarify – did I want a man or woman to wash me. A woman please!

This was a great choice as from this point on I realised that I had to simply give up on inhibitions and enjoy the experience. I was given an invigorating aloe vera scrub, followed by a massage with what can only be described as pillow cases full of foam. It was sublime. The experience concluded with a full body (and I mean full body) oil massage.

I have shared my turkish bath story with a few people. I have told that I didn’t sell it well. Yes, it is an extremely intimate experience – but I would do it again. Just remember to leave your inhibitions at the door.

Sailing away with pirate ships

The bay of Marmaris is extremely picturesque. From the first moment, we glimpsed it on arrival, I wanted to paint the misty hills that enclosed it. The first morning we noticed Pirate ships on the bay, and I was intrigued. There are several ships all offering day trips around the bay. In the end, we chose the Black Pearl, primarily because of the friendly man who engaged with us. I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t a pirate ship, but then again we got to watch the Pirate ships instead.

This day out was brilliant value and included all drinks on board as well as a delicious lunch. The views were stunning and so inspiring. We dropped anchor at various spots for swimming, sightseeing and to view truly magical caves.

My lasting memories of Turkey

When I think back on my trip, the overriding memories are of the friendly people, and the kindness of strangers. For the most part, people are honest and kind. We had great chats with locals and other tourists, and felt truly welcomed.

We will be back – and next time we will stay in the lovely Icmeler but of course we will visit the beautiful bay of Marmaris.

Like this:

I love going on holidays. What I don’t like is the getting ready. I get quite stressed about the packing in case I leave anything behind. My other big stress is getting to the airport. To drive or catch a bus? Where to park? Quite honestly I don’t normally want to be around myself the day before travel.

The Carlton Hotel Blanchardstown offer a service called #StayParkFly – you can stay over at the hotel the night before you fly, and leave your car there. They then offer a shuttle service dropping you right at the airport.

I was delighted to collaborate with the Carlton Hotel Blanchardstown on our recent visit to Turkey. We were flying at 6am on Sunday morning so needed to be at the airport at 4am. And, yes the shuttle bus was available at this hour of the night.

This was such a cool experience that I decided to dedicate a full blog post to what I am now calling the first day of the holiday.

Day 1 of my Holiday

On Saturday afternoon we took a leisurely drive up to Dublin arriving at the hotel mid-afternoon. I have visited the Carlton Hotel Blanchardstown before and I know the rooms are lovely but we were given a real treat and upgraded to a suite. I felt like a movie star! We settled in with a cup of tea and some lovely little cakes. I stretched out like a star fish on the bed and himself watched a little TV.

Instead of my usual stress I felt so relaxed, like I was on holiday already. And what better way to celebrate the beginning of a holiday than a wonderful G&T! The bar is so lovely and welcoming and all the staff were super helpful.

We needed an early night (as we had an extremely long day ahead of us) so we had an early dinner. A delicious juicy steak for himself and some yummy pumpkin ravioli for me, before heading off to our gorgeous room for a bubble bath and an early night.

Day 2 of our holiday

The next morning I woke up and instead of being stressed, I was excited! The attitude of the staff at this hotel is fantastic. Before 4am we came downstairs with our bags to be greeted with a smile, and two little bags with take-away breakfast of croissants, muffins, fruit and water. Our cheerful driver Michael set off for Dublin Airport – next stop for us – Marmaris, Turkey!

You know the feeling when you come home from holiday. You have been travelling hours on a mini bus and a budget airline and you are beyond tired. This is normally the time when you have to either climb on a bus for another few hours, or play the game of find the car in among hundreds of cars in the long-term parking. By this stage my fatigue normally has me close to tears.

What a difference this was. Despite our plane being delayed, the cheerful driver Michael was waiting for us, he had even called ahead to check that we knew where to find him.

I can honestly say that the wonderful service from the staff at the Carlton Hotel Blanchardstown contributed to a wonderful holiday.

Kerry xx

Our stay at the Carlton Hotel Blanchardstown was gifted to us. Thank you very much! Thank you also to Sinead from the Irish Blogger Agency.

p.s. The next installment of our holiday in amazing Turkey will be coming soon! And it includes my take on a Turkish Bath!

Like this:

Afternoon tea is my favourite meal. I know that it might not be the healthiest meal but it trumps on the luxurious indulgence stakes.

I was delighted to be invited to the Carlton Hotel in Blanchardstown to celebrate the launch of their afternoon tea menu. The simple thought of it had me up early in the morning and ready to travel.

Like any true afternoon tea addict it is always a complete experience, so I started with my outfit. It had to be my Lindy Bop Tea dress. Feeling pretty and bubbling with excitement I set off on my journey with fellow bloggers Sinead from Yummy Mummy and Dolores from Irish Health Hour.

The mood was set with lots of girly chats and laughs and we arrived in good spirits.

A Hotel with a Heart

Some people might say that a hotel is simply a hotel, but this hotel has heart. What a beautiful warm welcome we received. The staff were fantastic, friendly and efficient.

As we entered the room where the tea party was being held I just wanted to swirl and twirl in my party dress. The attention to detail was second to none and my eyes kept jumping around to take in the detail, all of which built atmosphere and excitement.

Pimp my Prosecco

Before we sat down for tea we were offered a glass of prosecco, but not just any prosecco. This cute primp my prosecco stand meant that we could add flavourings and fruit to our glass of sparkle. As delicious as it was, I wanted to watch my intake and the great staff immediately assisted by pimping sparkling water for me.

The perfect ingredients for afternoon tea for me are great company, excellent hot tea and lots of it and of course the foody goodies. As we sat down at a perfectly decorated table with great little details like name plates and little flowers I glanced over at the fine china and knew I was in for a treat.

The cake stands were delivered and we all simply dived in. The bottom layer of sandwiches was my first dive in. The classic smoked salmon and brown soda, a yummy delicious chicken with apple wood smoked cheddar (so yummy that I was looking for a second one), fresh tasting egg mayonnaise and cucumber and finally a roast beef. I was ok with missing out on the beef (as I don’t eat red meat), and was delighted to sit back and sip at my tea.

My number one tea party food is a good scone. These scones served with jam and cream were fluffy and light inside with just the right amount of crisp. The addition of lemon drizzle cake and a fruity banana bread was just the right balance before reaching for the top tier!

The top-tier of any tea stand is pure indulgence and this was no different. Creamy, dreamy coconut cake, delicious vanilla cheesecake, toffee Mille Feuillee and beautiful little custard tarts which are my mother’s favourite. The big decision – to choose or simply have one of each.

There was a lot of delicious food and I enjoyed it. It was great fun though and between lots of laughs as we experimented with Boomerang and dived into our goody bags. Time simply flew.

Just a small note at this stage on the goody bags. They were fabulous with lots of treats for us bloggers to try. I will be featuring many items on my Instagram (@DynamicKerry) and my blog in the weeks to come. We were gifted all sorts of goodies from a range of sponsors. These included the Carlton Hotel, Ultra Pure Laboratories, Human + Kind, Dr Paw Paw, Ardell Lashes, Graham Anthony, Debenhams, Nude by Nature and from local retailers including Chopped, O’Breins Wines, and Westend Retail Park.

This was my kind of afternoon, and to be honest my perfect social occasion. I will definitely be back!

We even finished off the afternoon with a gin cocktail! Who could say no to that?

A hotel with a lot more to offer

Before the day ended we had a tour around the hotel and I added to my wish list. Beautifully appointed rooms just invite you to sink into soft pillows and take a rest.

The fab business centre caught my eye. Working from home I am often looking for somewhere to hold a meeting or simply work and write when I am out-of-town. I will be working on a different blog post over on www.kerrymanning.net all about working on the go and will definitely be including the facilities at the Carlton Hotel in Blanchardstown.

The Carlton Hotel is conveniently located close to the fabulous Blanchardstown Shopping Centre and in easy reach of the airport.

Thank you for reading. Let me know if you indulge in afternoon tea at the Carlton Hotel Blanchardstown or wherever you live. Remember tea and cake is best shared with friends.